This invention relates to the waste collection area and more specifically to that of devices for collection of animal waste, canine waste in particular.
The device claimed for the invention comprises a casing provided with side openings or slots for removal of bags, a side door or opening provided with an access opening made in such side door or opening and permitting introduction of used collection bags into a gathering bag which is situated inside the casing. The interior of the casing comprises a moving carriage which may be pulled by sliding to the exterior of the casing and which carries a waste gathering bag.
The number of pets has been growing constantly for years. This growing pet population, that of dogs in particular, which is concentrated especially in urban areas, invariably creates problems.
In effect, owing to the lack of suitable means, dog owners for the sake of convenience allow their dogs to defecate on public property, sidewalks, in public gardens, in public parks, in sandboxes reserved for children, and so forth. This behavior creates olfactory pollution problems, problems of hygiene, as well as problems associated with the risk of slip and fall. The problem of canine waste is an especially acute one in an urban environment because of a high concentration of waste. Such pollution is being less and less tolerated in urban areas, and above all by people who do not own a pet. In addition, the budgets allocated by towns and cities for cleaning are growing constantly and becoming intolerable.
Attempts have been made to solve these problems, but they do not appear to have met with real success. In fact, canine waste collection devices have been proposed since the beginning of the 1980s; one such device, for example, is disclosed in patent document EP 0082118.
This document describes a waste receptacle comprising a container on which a gathering bag is fastened. This bag is held by a cover by clamping of the bag between the cover and the container, which serves as receptacle. The cover has an opening in front for introduction of waste as well as side openings or slots for dispensing of individual canine waste collection bags, the bags being stored in containers mounted inside the cover.
In the case of a device of this type, while the device makes means available permitting collection of waste, it does not concern itself with the way in which the receptacle is to be emptied. In effect, because of its design, this type of device compels the worker assigned the task of emptying the container to raise the cover, something which may present problems, especially in winter when it may be frozen and covered with ice and so very difficult to raise because of its adhesion to this part of the collection receptacle container.
Another disadvantage of a device of this kind lies in grasping the bag itself for its removal from the container. In effect, in order to remove the bag from the container the worker is forced to remove the latter by lifting it vertically out of the container.
An additional disadvantage of a device of this kind is that the worker who intends to empty the collection vessel is obliged to lean over the bag in order to pull it out of the receptacle is then greatly disturbed by the odors which are released from it.
This manner of proceeding is highly impractical, especially since in view of the nature of the wastes, canine dejecta, the weight of the collection bags may reach 20 kilograms. A weight such as this is very difficult to handle and forces the worker to exert effort which is concentrated in his back. Repetition of such handling a large number of times during the work shift is onerous for the worker, who is subject to ailments at the level of the back which are related to his work. It appears that it is because of these disadvantages that devices of this type have not met with success.